On Aug. 4, the New York Times released a review of Bodies Bodies Bodies written by Lena Wilson. It’s a critical but ultimately okay-ish review of the slasher flick — take lines like, “This is a movie perfectly tailored to one of A24’s key demographics: bougie 25-year-olds who value branding over substance.”
Indeed, the role of film distributor A24 comes into play later in the review. “The only thing that really sets Bodies Bodies Bodies apart is its place in the A24 hype machine, where it doubles as a 95-minute advertisement for cleavage and Charli XCX’s latest single,” Lena writes. This bit will become very important momentarily.
Lena revealed via Twitter and TikTok that she received a DM from Amandla that read, “Ur review was great, maybe if you had gotten ur eyes off my tits you could’ve watched the movie!” After wishing her well, Lena blocked her.
In a series of now-private tweets, Lena questioned whether Amandla would DM other critics in such a way and emphasized that the line was more a comment on how A24 “objectifies young women to sell content.” She also alluded to “homophobia” in Amandla’s accusation.
Seeing the hubbub, Amandla then hopped onto her IG stories to comment further on the situation. “I’m receiving a lot of commentary on the internet for being a very naughty girl and for sending a DM that I thought was hilarious,” she began.
“She described [the movie] as ‘a 95-minute advertisement for cleavage,’ which I thought was hilarious. I’m proud that a piece of work I was a part of was described as such in such a renowned publication. That is a really unique experience that I get to have,” they continued, somewhat sarcastically.
Amandla confirmed that she had sent the DM while laughing, adding, “I thought it was hilarious. I thought because Lena is gay, and I am also gay…as gay people we would both find this comment funny. I was also curious to know what Lena would say to such a statement. Lena decided to publish it and also says that I am homophobic for saying that.”
“The amount of commentary I receive on my boobs is so extreme. This has happened since I was a teenager,” they continued. “In this movie, I’m wearing a tank top — and I know that when I’m wearing a tank top, there’s going to be some cleavage.”
“I knew that this comment was probably mostly directed towards me. I think Lena was trying to make a comment about A24 sexualizing me…I understand the angle, [but] I can tell you I wore this tank top in this movie because me and the costume designer thought it fit the character well.”
“Lena, I thought your review was hilarious. I thought my DM was funny. I did not mean to harass you. I do not wish you any harm. You are allowed to have your criticism on my work and I’m allowed to have my criticisms of your work. I wish you the best.”
